Night of Baking: Moist Yogurt Cake

Last night I baked orange peel- prune- oatmeal- sunflower seed cookies, and also a yogurt cake the recipe for which I found in an old Bon Appetit. Cookies are addictive and after I glaze the cake with marmalade, I am planning to enjoy a slice with hot coffee and milk over breakfast and a Margaret Laurence book called The Fire-Dwellers. I only discovered M. Laurence recently (and good thing, for she would have made too depressing a read for my already overly melancholy high school years), and though I find myself getting pulled into the story and its excessive human sadness and the miscommunication between husband and wife, I am impressed by the way I am able to live inside the protagonist's mind and follow her train of thought. Her writing style is extremely creative and effective, and results in a page turner that, if one is not careful, will alter one's mood as well! To offset any such effect, try the recipe for this yogurt cake, which will bring the smile back to your face and the warmth back to your kitchen:

Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze
1.5 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt
1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup)
3 large eggs
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I like sunflower)

1/4 cup lemon, orange or grapefruit marmalade

1. Preheat oven to 350" and butter a 8.5 X 4.4 loaf pan
2. Whisk all wet ingredients except the oil together in a large bowl
3. Sift dry ingredients together and then add gradually to wet ingredients
4. With a rubber spatula fold in the oil
5. Pour batter into pan, place pan on a baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven for
about 50 minutes, until a tester comes out clean
6. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmould the cake and cool completely
7. Stir marmalade and a drop of water in a pot over medium heat, brush over top of loaf, let
set and serve

ideas: as a sweet breakfast, or with a fruit syrup and whip cream for dessert